Quick response helps save Norwich home

Firefighters alerted by helpful passersby were able to keep a fire from destroying a home in Greeneville on Wednesday afternoon.

JOHN BARRY

Firefighters alerted by helpful passersby were able to keep a fire from destroying a home in Greeneville on Wednesday afternoon.

No one was in the house at 367 Boswell Ave., when the fire was reported at about 5:30 p.m., Norwich Fire Chief Kenneth Scandariato said.

Truck driver Marc Poitras said he was driving by when he saw the fire. “You could see the flames coming out of the back of the house,” he said.

Poitras stopped and with one or two other people, including Kim McCorkindale, tried to get the front door open in case anyone was inside.

McCorkindale also was driving by. She turned around, called 911 and drove back to the scene to help.

“I saw flames coming out the back,” she said.

Neighbor Melanie Reyes said the home may be occupied by an elderly woman she sees there occasionally. Reyes worried the woman might be inside, so “I took a brick, and I busted the front windows,” she said.

Firefighters responding to the scene received reports that someone might be trapped inside, Scandariato said, and they went in to search.

“Thankfully, no one was in the building,” he said.

“A hot, deep-seated fire was well advanced,” Scandariato said. The fire appeared to have started in the area of a back porch, he said, “but there’s so much damage there, it’s difficult to say at this point.”

City of Norwich firefighters responded to the blaze, as well as units from Taftville and Mohegan Tribal departments.

About 25 firefighters were able to get the fire under control in 45 minutes, Scandariato said. “The guys did an excellent, excellent job.”

One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion, he said, then was able to go back to work. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, Scandariato said. He said he has asked for an accelerant-sniffing dog to help learn if the fire was deliberately set.